Emergency

On November 8, 2013, super Typhoon Haiyan – possibly the most powerful storm ever recorded—dealt a massive blow to the Philippines. Torrential rains, 15 foot storm surge and 150 mph sustained winds unleashed widespread devastation, power outages and landslides across the Visayas Islands. The storm affected an estimated 18 million people, killed over 6,000, displaced some 550,000 and damaged or destroyed as many as 2,000 health centers, hospitals and clinics.

Our recovery efforts continue to focus on the restoration and strengthening of health services and the repair and rebuilding of health facilities. Click on the Response and Recovery tabs for details.

Response

Within 72 hours, our Emergency team was on the ground coordinating aid deliveries and assessing damage to begin our comprehensive response to save lives, restore health care, and build a more resilient health system for survivors. Our response to date of $21 million in medical and humanitarian aid to partners working in the hardest hit areas includes:

$19 million in emergency medical aid: enough medicines to fill 1 million prescriptions and 1.3 million relief supplies including bandages, nutritional supplements, blankets and other medical supplies for hospitals and health centers in the hardest-hit areas, including $2 million to volunteer medical teams providing lifesaving care to typhoon survivors.

$1.1 million in emergency funding: for project support including the restoration of dozens of health care facilities, mental health training, and to procure relief supplies and humanitarian aid for survivors in need.

Click the Recovery tab to read an overview of our long-term recovery plan.

Annual Emergency Response Partners

A very special thanks to our Annual Emergency Response Partners who help us to respond immediately, effectively and over the long term to disasters around the world such as Super Typhoon Haiyan.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Anonymous

Anthem Foundation

Boeing

Covidien

McGraw Hill Financial

MedImmune

OdysseyRe

Southwest Airlines

Voya Financial

Recovery

AmeriCares will maintain a field presence in the Philippines into 2015, providing ongoing assistance. We are currently working to build long-term, sustainable improvements in the health system and services:

Restore and strengthen health services: Supported medical teams caring for displaced survivors, transport urgent-care patients and provide equipment and supplies to re-open health centers. We continue to supply health centers and work with community leaders and health officials to prepare for future emergencies.

Rebuild health facilities: Reconstruction completed or underway on 74 facilities with dozens more in the planning stages, restoring access to health services for close to 2 million patients. We are working with the Philippines Department of Health and local partners to rebuild health facilities to withstand future disasters.

Building healthier futures for affected communities: Providing training to expand health workers’ skills in the areas of mental health and psychosocial support, malnutrition surveillance and disaster preparedness skills. We have already trained over 2,300 health workers and community leaders to provide mental health services to survivors facing trauma and loss after the deadly storm. More than 2 million people now have access to improved mental health services.

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One of the generators donated by the GE Foundation and installed by AmeriCares at health clinics affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines meant that during the recent Typhoon Hagupit, 16 women could give birth safely at a clinic that lost power - demonstrating the critical impact of our disaster preparedness program.

AmeriCares Emergency Team on the ground mobilizes a response as Typhoon Hagupit, the strongest storm of 2014, slams the Philippines with cyclone-force winds, storm surges and drenching rain. Immediate aid efforts and relief shipments are underway.

In collaboration with the Philippines Department of Health and local partners, AmeriCares is repairing 67 community health centers damaged by Typhoon Haiyan. This work will restore health services for an estimated 1.3 million people.

Working with partners in the Philippines AmeriCares has introduced training to expand health workers’ skills in the areas of mental health and psychosocial support, malnutrition surveillance and disaster preparedness skills, to help create a foundation for a healthy future.

AmeriCares large-scale Typhoon Haiyan response has helped save lives, reduce suffering and restore health care services for millions of survivors in the Philippines. In the first 6 months, AmeriCares provided $19.7 million in medicines, supplies, and health services to protect the health of 1.3 million people.

In the months since Typhoon Haiyan struck, AmeriCares has provided more than $19.7 million in aid to help meet the needs of survivors and restore primary health care in the hardest hit areas of the Philippines.

Brian Hoyer, director of AmeriCares post-emergency programs and a member of our Haiyan response team, worked with partners on Panay Island in the Philippines in the weeks following Typhoon Haiyan to help meet the immediate needs of survivors.

Brian Hoyer, director of AmeriCares post-emergency programs and a member of our Haiyan response team, worked with partners on Panay Island in the Philippines in the weeks following Typhoon Haiyan to help meet the immediate needs of survivors.

Pontevedra is one of the towns in Roxas where IOM has set up emergency health operations to provide relief for overstretched public healthcare systems by augmenting primary healthcare in coordination with AmeriCares, IOM’s health partner in humanitarian emergencies.

In the first year, we have made significant progress towards restoring and enhancing health services and rebuilding health facilities. We are committed to working alongside our partners in the Philippines into 2015, and longer if need be.

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Sending AidWorldwide

Since it was established in 1982, AmeriCares has delivered more than $12 billion in humanitarian aid to 164 countries, including the United States.

OurEfficiency

More than 97 percent of all donations directly improve the health of people in need. Because we deliver donated medical and humanitarian aid to a trusted network of health care partners around the world, we multiply the impact of contributions from our supporters many, many times over.

AmeriCares is approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (C) (3) tax-exempt organization, and all donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. AmeriCares Federal Identification Number (EIN) is 061008595. Member of Reuters Alertnet.